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Azhar vows Pakistan will come back stronger

Azhar Ali expects Pakistan to improve in the final two ODI matches against Bangladesh after suffering a 79-run defeat in the series opener.

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AFP

Written ByAlex Fisher

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Pakistan captain Azhar Ali vowed his team will come out fighting
against Bangladesh after a 79-run defeat in Mirpur on Friday.

A disappointing batting collapse from the tourists gifted
Bangladesh their first win over Pakistan in 16 years, and handed
them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Azhar was not happy with what he saw from his side - shorn of
the retired Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi - in the field, but
expects them to be competitive in the remaining two one-day
internationals.

"We made some mistakes in the field and dropped some catches at
the wrong time and the credit goes to the Bangladesh batsmen," he
said. "They got 30-40 runs extra.

"Mohammed Rizwan (67) batted well, we had a few positives. We
will fix the mistakes and come strong in the next game."

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was full of praise for his
players.

Centuries from Tamim Iqbal (132) and Mushfiqur Rahim (106)
lifted Bangladesh to 329-6 and Pakistan could only muster 250 all
out in reply.

"Tamim and Mushfiqur batted really well, it was a good pitch to
bat on," said Shakib.